Monday, April 25, 2011

Leftover holiday food is a favorite of mine! I have a series of Meal of the Moment posts that give ideas on using up leftovers! I pulled a couple ideas from my archives to share with you FRESH AFTER Easter.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

re·demp·tion

Several years ago, we were living in painful chaos. I've written about it before, one time specifically in a post called "If You're hurting". As a family, we had literally spun recklessly to the concrete with a pounding thud that rang in our ears for a long time even after the fall. Our final "rock bottom" moment blew up around us in the spring, near Easter time.

Easter is fresh beginnings, new growth, and beauty from every angle. Easter celebrates redemption. We tell stories of the wooden cross on a hill and the big empty tomb. But Easter symbolizes a personal redemption story for our family as well.

The heartache and misery that is experienced when destruction thrusts itself into normal lives is unspeakable. Our foundation was shaken and hope seemed impossible to even faintly whisper.

I had never experienced such a dark time before...or ever since. Just as spring brings rainfall to the dead grass, God allowed rain to cover my dead, but still beating heart. The thunder didn't stop through the screams, moans, and cries of desperation on my knees. The rain continued to pound relentlessly, beating my body to a shrivel on the floor.I didn't realize the rain was soaking my spirit, helping it to grow. My weakness was overwhelming. Pain, destruction, and desperation fell upon us on all sides. When I mentally imagined that I couldn't possibly endure more rain, it stopped.

Instantly.

Like a miracle.

The sun came into focus and new life began. Several years later, life is amazing again. Looking back, I am always stunned at the miracle God gave us when He instantly stopped the storms in our life. I had no hope and every day I waited for the darkness to return. But it had left us for certain. In the stillness after the rain, God sent us redemption. He rescued our family and held our quivering bodies in the palm of His hand.

I absolutely LOVE this life. It truly is a beautiful life, and I am extremely grateful for each blessing. Every day I celebrate it in every teeny-tiny way possible! This blog shows how excited I am to savor every detail and each minute.

source unknown, please advise

Never stop believing. Never, never give up. I have been in severely dark hours and am in awe of how beautiful life can be after the rain.

If your heart is breaking and you can't gather up the pieces fast enough with your bare hands, then rest in God's promise of redemption. We are reminded of that promise every spring at Easter time.

In those days I wanted to run far away and never look back. I listened to this hymn on repeat during the darkness and it soothed my wounds. It was a true blessing to my weeping spirit.

Jars of Clay: I'll Fly Away

However,I didn't need to fly away to heaven (though I desperately wanted to at the time) for the happiness to come. We were given a sweet little heaven on earth. And although I know that struggles and heartache may come again someday in our little life's journey, I cherish the moments of now and the happiness that breathes life into our family every day.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I hope you can celebrate new beginnings and that you never lose hope. For more Easter thoughts, visit a previous post, Thank you for the Cross.

"If we had no winter,the spring would not be so pleasant..."~Anne Bradstreet

Monday, April 11, 2011

Our youngest son, Titus, just turned 7. (I previously shared the sneak peek post where you can see the invites).Seven is a magical age, the perfect age for a MAGIC SHOW party!

I am a lover of creating parties. I believe in creating wonder in special moments of my family's lives. I believe in adding every little special touch whenever possible. I believe in loving this life we live. The parties I design are just as much for ME as it is for the kids. But shhh, that's a secret.

I was inspired to do a Magic Show theme for this party because of memories I have of my Dad and his magic.Growing up, my Dad would perform captivating magic shows for me, and sometimes for my friends as well. He was always mysterious, quick, and of course, very magical. He stored his tricks in an old square box in the top shelf of his closet. I remember occasionally peering up in his closet and spying the box in the darkness. I was always so intrigued with that box. I never wanted to touch it, just IN CASE I would somehow destroy the magic. It was a treat whenever my Dad pulled down the box and worked his magic.

To carry on these memories, I wanted to show my boys the wonder and childlike awe of storybook magic tricks.

My Dad showing our boys his old magic tricks after the party.
These are same tricks he did for me when I was little.

On the days leading up to the party, the boys learned some tricks and learned a bit about famous magicians. I'm a big fan of learning at every opportunity in life (pretty sure I got this from my mom!) ;)

I chose neutral tones (my favorite!) and white for the colors, with red and black accents. My all time favorite place to purchase party supplies is from Garnish. Garnish products help me maintain the neutral palette while still providing the freedom to enhance the decor with color.

I styled a dessert bar that focused on all the classic goodies but in a homemade form! Twinkies, donuts, Oreos: classic junk food made home fresh in a Mama's kitchen.

Fruit and Cheese sticks, keeping it natural,
in the COOLEST cups from Garnish.

Occasionally, I will make a cake but I usually let the experts handle it! I use our local cake shop, The Cake Cottage, for most of our cakes. They never disappoint! Their cakes always steal the show at our parties.

To maintain our lil bunny in the hat theme,
I requested this cake style.

I decorated the table with signs on either side of the cake. I removed the glass from old photo frames and secured burlap to the backing. Then I simply taped on party printables. All my printables are from PinkPickle Studios. She is super fast at creating designs and understood my vision 100%.

Paper lanterns are AWESOME. They fold up easily for storage and make a super cool statement in party decor. I'm in love (again).

I also used a lot of ribbon in our decor. Ribbon has always been one of the primary supplies I use for party styling. It can be hung, tied, woven, wrapped, ANYTHING!

The felt MAGIC banner and star garland was custom created by TaffieWishes on etsy. They are by far the best shop I've ever worked with on etsy! I had such an amazing experience and their products are perfect. Taffie Wishes is one of my new favorite shops on etsy. This was very exciting to receive in the mail!

Charming, handmade,
felt squares hanging from a chunky rope...

An old magic book full of charm was dusted off to use for decor...and more felt underneath with some magic glitter...

When the guests arrived they got transformed into little magicians or magic bunnies, complete with magic glitter dust sprinkled on their heads. ;)

They also received a deck of cards and paper bags
filled with some magic love.

Name tags were pinned onto their goodie bags
with teeny tiny clothepins.

We had a magic show stage set up for some TRICKY STUFF.
The book is a gift for Titus.I often use gifts as props and decor.

We gave Titus a super silky magician's cape that is reversible. I ordered it with a big number 7 on the back to have as a memory of his 7th birthday. I found it on Katie's Capes on etsy. It is perfectly made and she was my lifesaver since I don't like needles and thread. Titus had his top hat, cape, wand, and white gloves...ready for a show!

We had a surprise visit from a REAL DEAL MAGICIAN in the middle of the party! He kept the kids wide-eyed as he performed.

The real magician...

During our Magic Show, an adorable bunny mysteriously appeared out of a box with a special message for Titus...This was my most anticipated moment of the party! With some magic chants from all the kids of hocus pocus, poof, abracadabra, and shizam , Titus' BIG birthday surprise APPEARED as part of a trick!

A bike from Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Dad.

We have magical moments tucked into our hearts as we celebrated LIFE. We smiled over the 7 years that Titus has added magic to our spirits, by his innocent, calm love.

We thank God for blessing us with our youngest, and for the group of beautiful friends who celebrate with us: the next generation in this big-little thing we call life.

Our three little heartthrobs, magicians for a day,
little people for awhile longer...

A word of thanks as the day is done...

If you're still reading, you seriously rock. This was the longest post EVER. Thanks for indulging my passion. Your support is extra valuable to me.

The fine print: The government makes me say that I was compensated for this post. All opinions are my own, ALWAYS.

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I'm Lisa, I am passionate about the beauty of life. I'm a lover of the seasons and find happiness in all details. Entertaining, parties, and home decor energize me. My husband of 13 years is my ultimate best friend and my 3 boys make my heart smile daily. I love deeply, feel deeply, and live deeply.